They’re all ripoff of Dune anyway, which is ultimately a space themed ripoff of the legend/myth/folklore tale of King Arthur, which ultimately through various retellings and copies of copies of other stories takes you back to the epic of Gilgamesh.

So basically all modern stories are just a 5000 year old game of telephone for Gilgamesh.

So uhhh… Checkmate atheists?

A copy of a copy of a copy

There were a lot of attempts to cash in on Star Wars, most were far more blatant than BG - I remember watching The Black Hole in the cinema as a kid and being struck by how much it drew “inspiration” from Star Wars (which was OK with me as I was desperate for more). My favourite is still Battle Beyond the Stars.

And Silent Running? I do love that film and can definitely see the DNA of Huey, Dewey, and Louie in R2. However, Lucas drew elements from all over the place, like Flash Gordon and Kurosawa, it’s the way he managed to weave all those threads together that was the impressive feat and the cash-ins just took their inspiration from Star Wars (and a bit of the Magnificent Seven).

MGM just sitting there on the sidelines smiling quietly, gently scratching the head of a purring “2001”.